| Impromptu | |
|---|---|
Promotional movie poster for the film |
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| Directed by | James Lapine |
| Produced by | Stuart Oken Daniel A. Sherkow |
| Written by | Sarah Kernochan |
| Starring | Judy Davis Hugh Grant Mandy Patinkin Bernadette Peters Julian Sands Emma Thompson |
| Music by | Frédéric Chopin Franz Liszt Ludwig van Beethoven |
| Cinematography | Bruno de Keyzer |
| Editing by | Michael Ellis |
| Distributed by | Sovereign Pictures |
| Release date(s) | 12 April 1991 |
| Running time | 91 min |
| Country | UK, France |
| Language | English |
Impromptu is a 1991 movie, based on a screenplay written by Sarah Kernochan, directed by James Lapine, produced by Daniel A. Sherkow and Stuart Oken, and starring Hugh Grant as Chopin and Judy Davis as George Sand. This movie was rated PG-13 by the MPAA. The film was shot entirely on location in France as a British production by an American company. The main location used was at the Chateau des Briottières outside of Angers in the Loire Valley.[1]
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Since getting divorced, Baroness Amantine-Lucile-Aurore Dupin, previously Baroness Dudevant, the successful and notorious writer of sensational romance novels now living under the pseudonym George Sand, in Paris, has been in the habit of dressing like a man. In her romantic pursuit of the sensitive Chopin, whose music she fell in love with before seeing him in person, George/Aurora is advised that she must act like a man pursuing a woman, though she is also advised to avoid damaging his health by not pursuing him at all. With this advice Sand is deterred by a fellow countrywoman who pretends to be smitten with Chopin, the mistress of Franz Liszt, the Countess Marie d'Agoult. Whether the Countess is really in love with Chopin is unlikely; she seeks only to prevent a relationship between Chopin and Sand.
Sand meets Chopin in the French countryside at the house of the Duchess d'Antan, a foolish aspiring socialite who invites artists from Paris to her salon in order to feel cosmopolitan. Sand invites herself, not knowing that several of her former lovers are also in attendance. A small play is written by Alfred de Musset satirizing the aristocracy, Chopin protests at his lack of manners, de Musset bellows and a fireplace explosion ensues.
Chopin is briefly swayed by a beautifully written love letter ostensibly from d'Agoult, a letter actually written by, and stolen from, Sand. Eventually Sand wins over Chopin when she proves that she wrote the letter, reciting its words to him passionately, and giving him a copy of her memoir in which the text of the letter appears.
Chopin is then challenged to a duel by one of Sand's ex-lovers. He faints during the face-off. Sand finishes the duel for him and nurses him back to health in the countryside, solidifying their relationship.
Near the end of the movie, Sand and Chopin dedicate a volume of music to the countess, although this only suggests that she has had an affair with Chopin, causing a falling-out with her lover Liszt. Sand and Chopin depart for Majorca, relieved to escape the competitive nature of artistic alliances and jealousies in Paris.
Source: New York Times[2]
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Sarah Kernochan, Lapine's wife, had written the film in 1988 during a lay-off due to a Writers Guild strike. Kernochan explained the film: "How do complicated people find a simple way of loving?" The producer Stuart Oken liked the project; his concern was to give Lapine "a chance to realize his vision and become a movie director."[3]
For the cast, Lapine wanted "to use people he had worked with before." He cast actors who "didn't look like, but embodied the characters." Judy Davis and Mandy Patinkin could "hardly look more unlike the cultural icons they portray." Lapine hired a piano coach and a music consultant to advise both Grant and Sands on various piano techniques.[3]
Due to Common Market legalities, the film was incorporated as a British production with co-production by Ariane, a French company and distribution by a United States company Sovereign Films. The budget was $6 million.[3]
Impromptu was broadcast on PBS's Masterpiece Theatre in 1993.[4]
The New Yorker reviewer wrote that the film was "an ebullient and absurdly entertaining account of the famous love affair of George Sand and Frédéric Chopin. ...The historical figures in this movie are cartoons, but they’re cartoons with recognizable human qualities, and the actors look as if they were having a wonderful time charging around in their period costumes. Hugh Grant’s Chopin is a brilliant caricature of the Romantic ideal of the artist; he gives the character an air of befuddled unworldliness, and punctuates his readings with delicately timed tubercular coughs. Judy Davis plays Sand—a great actress in a great role."[5]
The reviewer for The Houston Chronicle wrote that the film is "a zingy, impudent little essay on gender, with the exquisitely confusing George Sand at its center."[6]
Source: New York Times[7]
Impromptu won the award as Audience Favorite at the Houston WorldFest Film Festival.[6]